Chris Scott has revealed midfielder Jack Stevens could potentially return to training in a matter of days not weeks after he was stabbed on Saturday night.
Stevens was discharged from hospital yesterday after receiving surgery for chest wounds. Details around the incident remain unclear and it has been reported that Steven has twice refused to speak to police.
Scott wants people to espect Steven's privacy and to not draw a line between this incident and his previous issues.
"He's out of hospital and in pretty good spirits. Clearly, he was a victim of something quite serious. We're trying to respect his privacy as much as possible," Scott told reporters.
"The priority should be wellbeing and we should be mindful of his privacy.
"He's very much in our thoughts when it comes to the possible composition of our team in 2020. I'll speculate and say it's more like days than weeks for a training return.
"I get the feeling that people would want to roll some of the previous issues that Jack has had into the current situation and I would caution against that."
The four-time best and fairest winner had played 183 games for the Saints before he was traded to Geelong at the end of the 2019 season.